To investigate the effectiveness of a universal wake number for groups of closely spaced bluff bodes, staggered cylinder configurations with center-to-center pitch ratios of $P/D=1.125$ and 1.25, and incidence angles from α=0 deg–90 deg, were tested in the subcritical Reynolds number regime. The aerodynamic forces, base pressure, and vortex shedding frequencies were measured for the upstream and downstream cylinders, and were found to be strongly dependent on the incidence angle and small changes in the flow pattern. The Griffin number was found to be an appropriate universal wake number for the closely spaced staggered cylinders, based on the total drag force acting on the two cylinders, and the average base pressure for the two cylinders. The results suggest that the single vortex wake of a pair of closely spaced staggered cylinders is broadly comparable to the wake of a solitary bluff body, and that the universal wake number concept can be extended to groups of closely spaced bluff bodies.

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